The Rune Mage Starting at Hogwarts

After class, Reese also proactively distributed the review materials.

With this information, a young wizard who has some ideas about black magic defense should have no problem getting a good grade.

After a brief exchange, Quirrell belatedly offered his congratulations to Ryze.

"Although some time has passed, I haven't congratulated you on winning the dueling tournament yet. It's truly an amazing achievement, and I doubt anyone will ever break this record again."

"That's because everyone's tactics worked. Without using the light magic we all researched, my basic skills are actually quite weaker than those of the older students. There are also some... [unclear phrase - possibly a typo]!"

"To win a championship in first grade, even if there is some talent involved, it is your own gift."

Quirrell glanced at the book Ridge was reading and then said to Ridge, "Advanced Potion Making, that's a sixth-grade book. It seems you have a strong talent for potions."

Ryze waved his hand: "In this regard, I just happen to be better at cooking, and I'm quick to get the hang of controlling the heat and handling ingredients for potions."

“Mr. White, you are quite modest,” Quirrell paused for a moment before continuing, “I heard that some of the magic you displayed in Paris had the effects of ancient magic... and that you also used some divination techniques in the duel?”

“I have a little talent in this area, so I’ve mastered one or two ancient spells,” Ryze nodded in response. “As for divination, I only have a tiny bit of talent. I can see some things that aren’t very clear, but I can only predict the direction of the opponent’s attack. That’s all I can do.”

Knowing who Quirrell is, Rhett certainly wouldn't tell Quirrell the truth.

Instead of looking for an opportunity to steal the Philosopher's Stone over the weekend, this guy suddenly appeared in the library, and even started talking to him. This behavior is really strange.

What are their plans now?

Is it because he's worried that his divination skills will reveal Voldemort's identity, so he wants to come and confirm it first?

Rizz looked up to meet Quirrell's gaze.

Now Quirrell's eyes are no longer as unfocused as they are during class.

So Rizzi took the initiative to ask Quirrell, "Professor Quirrell, would you like to experience divination? If it's just a simple divination, it shouldn't be a big problem."

As Quirrell listened to Rizzi's question, he seemed to realize that his current reaction was somewhat inconsistent with the persona he had previously presented, so he quickly adopted a stuttering manner.

"White, is this really okay? Will it interfere with your studies?"

"Of course, no problem, Professor. My divination is quite fast, it should only take a few minutes. However, my skills are limited, so please don't laugh if my predictions are inaccurate."

As Ryze spoke, he put down the advanced potion-making tool he was working on, then took a mini crystal ball out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

Although he doesn't need a crystal ball for his divination, he has all the necessary divination tools.

Andromeda sent these to him little by little.

She saw this fist-sized crystal ball at the Muggle market and gave one to Ryze. Even if the one he had broke, Ryze could still pull out more than ten identical crystal balls.

However, outsiders wouldn't know these things.

Quirrell hesitated for a moment, but remembering the orders the Dark Lord had given him, he sat down at the desk and asked Rhett, "What... what do you need me to do next?"

"Relax, Professor Quirrell. Just close your eyes and think about what's bothering you the most lately. It doesn't need to be too specific, just think about it."

While instructing Quirrell to reach for the crystal ball, Rizz secretly cast a nose-blocking spell on himself to mask the approaching garlic smell.

Chapter 235: Quirrell's Gift

As Quirrell closed his eyes, Ryze pretended to use light magic to make some noise on the crystal ball.

At the same time, he also looked intently at the crystal ball in front of him.

In fact, he didn't need the crystal ball to see anything, since he already knew what was behind Quirrell.

After staring at the crystal ball for about half a minute, Ryze finally showed a puzzled expression.

Keanu Reeves thinks he's a great actor, but Reeves' acting is just as good.

After all, he had to pretend to be a child since he was a child, so that the caregivers at the orphanage wouldn't think he was possessed by a "demon".

In religious countries in Europe, if a child is believed to be possessed by a demon, he/she will not easily survive to this day.

“I saw it, Professor…” Ryze murmured.

Quirrell's eyelids twitched slightly, and then he asked Raz, "What...what did you see? Did you...did you see my future?"

Ryze shook his head.

“I did see a black mist, Professor Quirrell. You do have a very strong curse aura, but it is so strong that I can’t see anything except this black mist.”

After all, the official explanation for Quirrell's current state is that he was tortured by a dark wizard using dark magic, causing him to lose his self-confidence.

Even Dumbledore spent a lot of effort trying to remove the curses on the other party.

Therefore, Ryze said that his gaze towards Quirrell was completely blocked by the curse on Quirrell, and he couldn't see anything clearly.

Upon hearing Rizzo's explanation, Quirrell opened his eyes.

A complex emotion flickered in his eyes.

It seemed like a sigh of relief, but it also carried a deeper sense of scrutiny.

"Yes, yes, I am now under a powerful curse. It seems that I have no future because of this curse." It is unclear whether this was Quirrell's casual explanation or a truth he inadvertently revealed.

Rizz quickly told Quirrell that it was his own lack of training and had nothing to do with Quirrell.

“No, I know, I know my current physical condition,” Quirrell said, adopting a pessimistic look as he looked intently at Rizz.

“You are a very promising student. You have accomplished things that older students cannot do in your first year, and I have seen all the help you have given me in class.”

He fumbled in his robes for a while, pulled out a roll of parchment that looked somewhat yellowed, and then placed it in front of Rizzi.

"These are some tips on magic guidance that I recorded during my travels. The content is rather advanced... I originally intended to teach them to older students, but I'm no longer able to teach them now. However, with your talent, I think you should be able to master them in a short time..."

Quirrell stood up: "Consider this my way of thanking you for this past year. If you encounter any problems you don't understand, feel free to come to me anytime and I will do my best to help you."

After saying that, Quirrell put on a dejected look and slowly turned and walked into the depths of the library.

Judging from this posture alone, it gives the impression of an elder who knows he is nearing the end of his life entrusting everything to his descendants.

The other person's garlic smell really ruined the atmosphere.

Even though Ryze had used the Nasal Congestion Charm, Quirrell's garlic smell had become a stereotype over the past year.

Whenever Quirrell is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is his pungent garlic smell, which even the Nasal Congestion Curse can't stop.

Furthermore, Rizzo already knew Quirrell's true identity and purpose.

So when Ryze saw Quirrell, who smelled so strange, putting on a teacher-student act with him, he felt a strong sense of incongruity.

Once Ryze was sure Quirrell was gone, he removed the nose-blocking curse from his body.

"Although Quirrell's performance was a bit corny, the contents of this parchment are quite interesting to me."

If Rhett is not mistaken, this parchment was probably not prepared by Quirrell as a way of thanking him.

If Quirrell were truly so kind, he wouldn't have been tempted by Voldemort to become the monster he is today in his pursuit of power.

Quirrell's every move is now under Voldemort's watchful eye. Whether it's hunting unicorns in the Forbidden Forest or dealing with this strange parchment, it's all undoubtedly Voldemort's doing.

Therefore, the contents of this parchment were probably something Voldemort prepared specifically for him.

Although we don't know what Voldemort hid in it, the techniques personally taught by the "Dark Lord" must be extraordinary.

After all, Quirrell also mentioned that this "skill is quite advanced," so he was told to learn it on his own for a while first, and then go to the office to find the other person if he encountered anything he didn't know later.

Judging from Quirrell's attitude, it seems like he's trying to win over Rez.

However, Ryze didn't open the thing directly.

Even with the Prismatic Rune that grants him the ability to "not touch," Ryze won't go looking for trouble for himself.

It's better to have a more professional person check it first, and only after confirming that there are no problems should he start learning.

So, after this seemingly ordinary little incident, that very evening, Reese appeared in the principal's office.

"Professor Dumbledore, there shouldn't be anything on this thing that would hypnotize or brainwash someone halfway through reading it, right?"

Dumbledore looked through his glasses at Rizz, then at the roll of parchment.

“I’ve heard of what you’re talking about, but this is indeed just an ordinary parchment,” Dumbledore said, quickly glancing at the contents of the parchment.

"This is a very pure magic induction technique. It mainly talks about the technique of forcibly casting advanced magic through strong emotional fluctuations. It is indeed a relatively profound technique."

According to Dumbledore, even seventh-year students at Hogwarts only have a basic understanding of this topic and will not delve too deeply into these more sensitive contents.

"Sensitive?" After a moment's hesitation, Ryze realized, "You mean this thing is black magic?"

“You could say that while the technique itself isn’t inherently problematic, it is indeed a shortcut to dark magic,” Dumbledore calmly explained to Rhett.

"This technique can quickly arouse your emotions, allowing you to rely on your willpower to ignite these emotions at crucial moments and apply them to the magic you cast."

Chapter 236: Do you think Quirrell can still be saved?

This technique is considered a shortcut to black magic because emotions amplify black magic more than white magic.

While positive emotions can also have a positive effect when casting white magic, black magic, which relies on negative emotions, is more effective in this regard.

“And that’s what makes dark magic so alluring,” Dumbledore explained to Rhett. “Regular magic requires years of practice and precise control over the magic within you.”

"But black magic is different. Most black magic only requires strong emotions to cause great damage, and this technique is to let you unleash your emotions in a more intense way."

In the future, the fake Moody also said in his class that the three unforgivable curses require the user to have real malice towards the target in order to be effective.

Having a group of students use Avada Kedavra on someone would at most cause them to bleed from the nose.

However, if you add the malice of truly wanting to kill someone to this spell, then even an ordinary adult wizard has the chance to kill a great wizard like Dumbledore directly.

It is precisely for this reason that the technique recorded in the parchment that Quirrell gave him, although theoretically it has a certain enhancement effect on any kind of magic, is basically used by users to cast dark magic.

It can be considered an essential path for wizards who study black magic.

However, after some explanation, Dumbledore still gave the technique a very high rating.

"Although you might be more prone to losing control of your emotions when you first master this technique, it's still a great way to enhance your magic once you've fully mastered it... Now that Quirinas has given it to you, it's up to you whether you want to learn it."

Rizz nodded.

His first thought was of the Soul Arena in his mind.

He's currently lacking in damage output, so if this technique can increase his damage output by about 10%, it's worth the effort for him to study it.

“I will learn this skill carefully,” Rizz put the parchment back and then asked Dumbledore the crucial question.

"Then, I think you should also know about Professor Quirrell's matter."

"It's one thing to suddenly give me such advanced techniques, especially those related to black magic, but there have been quite a few things involving him lately."

"The unicorns in the Forbidden Forest have been attacked one after another, and Hagrid won a dragon egg in a bet with a masked man at the Hog's Head. Of course, the most important thing is the guy behind that guy's head... Although I can guess your intention, Professor, if people find out the true identity of the guy behind Quirrell, Hogwarts will probably receive hundreds of protest letters immediately."

Dumbledore was not surprised at all by what Rizz said.

He knew that Ritz probably had a premonition about something last year through his divination talent.

However, Quirrell wasn't paying attention to Ryze at the time, so Ryze was too lazy to get involved in these things.

But now, with Ryze's fame skyrocketing, Quirrell and Voldemort on his body will naturally take notice of this overly dazzling genius.

Despite Ryze's casual remarks about "it's fine if you just bring me things," Dumbledore knew perfectly well that Ryze had come to him because Voldemort wanted to drag him down with him.

So, after letting out a slight sigh, Dumbledore asked Rizzi another question.

What do you think of Quirinas's current situation?

After thinking for a moment, Ryze directly expressed his feelings about Quirrell.

"His body reeked of decay, which even the smell of garlic couldn't mask. He was cursed from head to toe, giving the impression that he could die at any moment. If he hadn't drunk the blood of a unicorn, he probably wouldn't have lasted until May."

Ritz paused for a moment, then said, "After all, he has been possessed by the mysterious man for too long. His life force and soul have long been drained. Even if the unicorn blood allows him to continue, the unicorn blood itself carries a curse. Once the effects of the blood wear off, that curse will only make his life in this world more agonizing."

Dumbledore said softly, "You are more observant than I thought. Quirinas's health was already quite bad when the school year started last year."

"So, do you think there's any hope for Quirinas now?"

Rizz was slightly surprised when Dumbledore suddenly asked him this question.

A brief silence fell over the principal's office.

“To be honest, it’s quite difficult,” Ryze shook his head slightly.

"Even if the mysterious man leaves his body now, he probably won't live past the end of this year."

Dumbledore took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

His tone was tinged with sadness: "Quirinus used to be a very bright student. Although he wasn't very determined, he was someone who dared to challenge himself. His initial purpose in traveling the world was indeed to break the mysterious curse in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. He wanted to obtain greater power to break the curse."

"But unfortunately, he encountered Voldemort. Even in his weakened state, Voldemort was not someone an ordinary wizard could contend with. Moreover, Voldemort possessed extremely strong bewitching abilities. After devouring more than half of Quirinus's life force, Quirinus's mindset had already turned towards darkness."

With a large amount of his life force absorbed, Quirrell naturally thought of the Philosopher's Stone.